Last of the Summer Break

James had a wonderful visit but had to get back to the States to complete his psychology degree. We are definitely planning to come back here once he's finished. While he was here, we spent a lot of time in Kumbo when we weren't going all over the place with Fr. Paul. It was great watching James and Fr. Paul together -- they got along splendidly, better than brothers. Fr. Paul gave James the Lamnso name "Limnyuy" which means "God's work". I'm "Bongkisheri" which loosely translated means "Happiness is good".

Before he left, James had the metal worker at the school build a gate for my back patio, which was installed yesterday and looks like it will be very effective.  James took a lot of pictures and video of his visit and will be sharing them with everyone he can.

Back to Fr. Paul very briefly -- after spending about 3 weeks in Yaounde waiting for his visa, he finally got it and is gone to the UK until the end of September.

 The new Lay Mission-Helpers (Pete & Joy Newburn) arrived during the holidays, but I haven't had a chance to meet them. They are in Bamenda with their three kids. Pete will be teaching in the major seminary in Bambui. If they aren't able to make the trip to Tatum, I probably won't see them until October at the earliest (when I'm planning a trip to Bamenda).

The long holiday is over and it went quickly. Classes start next week. This week we've been holding entrance exams for the TTC and ENIET.  Last year the exams were run by the government and we had to wait a long time for the results before we could start. This year the government oversaw the exams, but they were held at the school and we processed the results ourselves. (It was a lot of work.) We hope to get more students this year than we had last.

The new principal started a few weeks ago -- another Br. Isaac. So now we have Br. Isaac Kwame from Ghana as the bursar and Br. Isaac Kpulika from Meluf (on the other side of Kumbo) as principal. As with most new bosses, he has his own ideas of how things should be run, so we're expecting quite a few changes this year. Br. Ivo was transferred to St. Albert's in Bafut (near Bamenda) - the same school as Br. Simon, the old bursar. With the new principal and new teachers being hired, I don't know if I'll be teaching the exact same subjects as last year and I probably won't know until the staff meeting at the beginning of the week.

Right before James left, the hard drive on my laptop decided to finally die (after threatening for a year). So James took it back with him for repairs and updates. I hope to get it back before the end of the year! In the meantime, I have to use the school computers, which are good computers, but it's not as nice as having mine in my house. The school is still without internet, but we keep hoping.

So far, I've gotten a harvest of potatoes and beans from my garden/farm. The cabbages are looking very good. The corn will probably be ready in October. I can't take any credit for the produce as Nicoline has done all the work. Knowing my own history with killing plants, I thought it best if I left it all to her. I am looking forward to the corn harvest with eager anticipation (even though it's not the sweet corn we're used to in the States -- as James discovered).

Summer Break

My holiday turned out to be busier than I expected. The exams went well and we were all finished by June 23 when I travelled to Douala with Sister to pick up James at the airport. To get to Douala from Tatum (or Kumbo) on public transport you have to change buses in Bamenda. We chose to take the night bus from Bamenda so we were able to have dinner with some sisters who have a house there. The bus left around 9:30PM and arrived Douala at about 5:30 AM. I slept most of the way. We went to the procure at the Cathedral and got a room where we could wash and rest. 

James landed in the evening, but Sister wasn't able to come to the airport with me because she had to meet one of her nieces (which was her main reason for travelling with me). I got James from the airport and back to the procure for some much needed rest on his part since he had trouble sleeping on the plane and his total travel time was about 36 hours. He also appreciated the air-conditioner in the room after the heat and humidity outside.

We stayed in Douala only one night and then went to Limbe, a beach town in the South West Region. One of the priests in Kumbo (Fr. Andrew) had connected me to a priest in Limbe (Fr. Danis) who let us stay in his parish procure which was right on the beach. Fr. Andrew also put me in touch with a friend of his (Orock) who showed us around the area. We had a great and relaxing time. It was a bit hot, but cooled down whenever it rained - which it did quite a bit. (A little ways up the coast from Limbe is one of the wettest places in Africa.) We made a day trip up to Buea and visited a beautiful shrine and grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Grace.

After Limbe, we took a big bus up to Bamenda where we spent the night at St. Albert's in Bafut with the Marist Brothers. The former bursar from St. Pius X, Br. Simon, was transferred there in January so we were able to spend some time with him.  The next day we took a small bus (think 9 passenger van with 20 people in it which was spewing fumes into the passengers' faces) to Kumbo. When we got to Kumbo, James got a "true African experience" of having to push the bus through the mud.

Fr. Paul let us stay at the Father's House in SAC.  He and James became friends also immediately, especially when they realized that they both love Guinness. We arrived in Kumbo on Saturday and the very next day after Mass Fr. Paul took us with him to the opening a salama house (for Muslim women) in a village called Wvem. The roads to Wvem are some of the worst in the area so after that James didn't think any of the roads were too bad.  It was also James' first experience of a big celebration in Cameroon so he was a little overwhelmed at first.

We spent about a week in Kumbo with some more adventures before heading to Tatum for a few quiet days. Then Fr. Paul got us back in Kumbo for the Youth Camp in Melim on July 19-23 where we gave a talk together on young saints, which was very well received. Then we went back to Tatum again where we were able to start on a few projects.

This past weekend we headed up to Misaje, which is a village further north where Fr. Edwin (the former Bishop's secretary) was recently transferred to and where Fr. Paul worked before he was sent to England for two years to learn more about youth ministry. Fr. Paul picked us up in Tatum in the afternoon, but then the fan belt broke on the truck so we didn't actually leave Tatum until after 7PM when the truck was finally fixed. We arrived in Misaje at almost midnight, but Fr. Edwin had a meal waiting for us so we had a wonderful supper. After getting about 3 hours of sleep, we were up for morning mass where James and I were asked to share a few words with the people. The Spirit moved powerfully and James spoke exactly what the people needed to hear so there was little I could contribute.

After Mass, we got to see some of the projects that Fr. Paul had worked on in his time there, including a health center, new buildings for the primary school, and a roof for the new parish church. On our way back to Kumbo, one of the hoses on the truck broke. The driver, Leonard, noticed it when James asked him to stop for some pictures. Leo and James were able to do a patch job on it that was able to get us home. 

So now we're back in Kumbo for a few more days. This morning I picked up my residency card from the Bishop's House and got some packages from the post office (Thanks, Mom!). We are planning a trip to Mbiame, Fr. Paul's home town, in the next day or two. The Diocesan Synod is starting on Aug. 6, so during that everyone will be even busier. Fr. Paul is leaving for a visit to the UK as soon as he gets his visa and James has to fly home on Aug. 16. So we're trying to squeeze in as much as possible before time runs out.